Politics

DOJ, FBI Officials: Director Christopher Wray Did Not Withhold Brady Material In Mike Flynn Case — ‘Has Been Nothing But Cooperative’

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 18: Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray arrives to testify before the Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill June 18, 2018 in Washington, DC. According to a report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz, former FBI Director James Comey and other top officials did not follow standard procedures in their handling of the 2016 investigation into Hillary Clinton's email server, but did not find any evidence of political bias. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Christian Datoc Senior White House Correspondent
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FBI Director Christopher Wray did not move to withhold exculpatory evidence in the case of Gen. Mike Flynn, FBI and Justice Department officials now say.

“The assertion that Director Wray pushed to withhold exculpatory evidence in the Michael Flynn case is 100% false,” DOJ Director of Communications Kerri Kupec told the Daily Caller. “To the contrary, the Director has been nothing but cooperative throughout this process.”

FBI Assistant Director of Public Affairs Brian Hale also told the Daily Caller that “the assertion that Director Wray pushed to withhold exculpatory evidence in the Michael Flynn case is absolutely false.”

When asked for clarification, Hale said that he was not personally aware if “there was a misunderstanding or a garble of some sort” regarding the Brady Material.

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 14: FBI Director is Christopher A. Wray speaks to the media during a news conference at FBI Headquarters, on June 14, 2018 in Washington, DC. Earlier today the inspector general released a 500 page report on the Clinton email investigation. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 14: FBI Director is Christopher A. Wray speaks to the media during a news conference at FBI Headquarters, on June 14, 2018 in Washington, DC. Earlier today the inspector general released a 500 page report on the Clinton email investigation. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

The Daily Caller reported earlier on Friday that Wray and FBI general counsel Dana Boente led an effort to block exculpatory material in Flynn’s case from being turned over to DOJ. The evidence was included in new documents filed Friday by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, whom Attorney General Bill Barr had directed in January to review the case.

Flynn, former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty in 2017 to charges brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. He has since changed his legal team and sought to retract his guilty plea. A judge additionally delayed his original, mid-February sentencing date “until further notice of the court.” (RELATED: Michael Flynn: ‘I Regret Pleading Guilty’)

His attorney, Sidney Powell, wrote in a Friday filing that the newly surfaced evidence “proves Mr. Flynn’s allegations of having been deliberately set up and framed by corrupt agents at the top of the FBI.”

“Since August 2016 at the latest, partisan FBI and DOJ leaders conspired to destroy Mr. Flynn,” she continued. “These documents show in their own handwriting and emails that they intended either to create an offense they could prosecute or at least get him fired.”